Chapter 19

"How detailed is the flood damage?"

"There was some damage in the Shinchi domain, but it can be quickly rebuilt. Once the river construction is completed, the damage will be reduced even more."

In the summer of 1562, it rained heavily, causing the rivers to overflow. In the Shinchi domain, where flood control works were actively carried out, the damage was minimal. However, the Kiso River, known for its unpredictable nature, could only have embankments built on the eastern side. The area around Tsushima in the upper reaches was under the control of Nobunaga, so they couldn't take action there. They couldn't just carry out the work on their own, but as a result, the flood damage occurred.

"More importantly, what about Nagashima and the western bank of the Kiso River?"

Taisei reported to Koki that there was considerable damage from the flood.

"That means the harvest will be poor."

"Yes, Nagashima is busy rebuilding temples, and due to business relations, they probably won't openly take action against the Shinchi family..."

Taisei was unaware of the operations Koki had conducted against the Ikkō-ikki of Nagashima. He seemed to believe the rumor circulating in society that "the Ikkō-ikki, due to their greed, were struck by lightning from heaven."

His tone of reporting was somewhat gloomy, and he didn't seem to have a good impression of the Ikkō-ikki.

"More importantly, the problem is the group of the Northern Ise Forty-Eight Families."

The "Forty-Eight Families" was a general term for the local lords who ruled over northern Ise. They were independent from the Northern Ise governor, the Kitabatake family, which controlled the central and southern parts of Ise. For example, the Umeda family, which boasted power in the Minami district, was affiliated with the Rokkaku family, which ruled southern Ōmi. The power dynamics were complicated, as was typical of the era of warring states.

"The local lords of Minami and Kuwana are gathering and seem to be planning something."

"We need to be on guard..."

The season turned to autumn, and it was time for the harvest. The domain wasn't very large, but thanks to the improved seedlings, the harvest efficiency was four times higher, resulting in a great harvest for the Shinchi domain.

"The new lord, long live!"

The farmers of the Shinchi domain were overjoyed, harvesting rice and paying taxes. It was decided that they would sell the rice to the Shinchi family, except for what they needed for their own consumption, but the price was fair, so the farmers had no complaints. The rice would be sold to regions with high market prices or stored as a reserve against famine. The winter wheat, which was also part of the same system, was scheduled to be collected by the Shinchi family.

"Northern Ise suffered from the flood, and it was a bit colder in the summer. The harvest is poor, and the local lords are planning to go to war."

In this case, the war was not aimed at expanding their territory. While they would naturally gain territory if they won, the main purpose was to invade enemy territory and plunder food. With a food shortage, they had to obtain it from elsewhere.

If they just waited, people would starve to death, so they might as well die in battle. Those who were robbed of their food would starve to death, but it was better than dying themselves.

It was truly an era of the end of the world.

"The local lords of Northern Ise are mobilizing on a large scale as soon as the harvest ends. They seem to be preparing ships. The targets are likely the Shinchi domain and the area around Tsushima."

"Then, we will meet them with the full force of our guard. We can't let them ruin what we've developed."

"Should we request reinforcements from the main lord?"

"I'll send a letter."

If he mobilized a large army without permission, his lord Nobunaga might suspect him. Therefore, Koki informed Nobunaga of the movements of the Northern Ise local lords by letter and also requested reinforcements.

"Handle it with just you, Mits..."

Nobunaga's reply stated that he couldn't send reinforcements and that Koki should handle it on his own. In return, if Koki counterattacked and invaded Northern Ise, he could do as he pleased.

"The main lord seems to be fully occupied with the conquest of Mino."

The farming season had ended, and Nobunaga was increasing his offensive against Mino. He had entrusted the negotiations with the powerful figures of western Mino, such as Inaba Yoshimichi, Ujiie Naomitsu, and Ando Moritaka, to Toyokichi, and had Shibata Katsuie and Sasaki Nobutsuna as reinforcements to defend against the attacks from Inabayama. One Masahiro also led an army to begin the conquest of eastern Mino, with targets such as Iwamura Castle and Nakanari Castle, where the Tōyama family resided. Dan羽 Nagahide and Morinari were also participating.

"If I have free rein, I'll manage..."

Half a month later, many ships were floating on the Kiso River. Most were small boats requisitioned from Kuwana and other places, but there were many of them, and they were carrying soldiers. The army of the Northern Ise local lords had launched a large-scale invasion on the eastern side of the Kiso River to plunder food.

"Do those guys have such strong unity?"

Among them were those affiliated with the Ikkō-ikki, those affiliated with the Rokkaku family, completely independent forces, and relatives of the Kitabatake family. The nominal commander-in-chief was the Nagano Kudō family, which had adopted a son from the Kitabatake family, but the army was not well-organized. They landed at will and plundered as they pleased. It seemed to be an arrangement, but with nearly ten thousand soldiers, they were a troublesome opponent for the Shinchi family, which had only about three thousand.

"Press forward with numbers! There's food on the other side of the river!"

The nominal commander-in-chief, Nagano Kudō, gave orders loudly, but without proper command, the only way to motivate the entire army was to promise them food.

This would be different if it were a normal opponent.

"The lord has ordered us to reduce their numbers as much as possible with long-range attacks."

"That's right."

Mōsuke, the top of the operational forces, started preparing the Tanegashima rifles, thinking that he wouldn't be able to charge into battle again.

"Then, it's the cannon unit. It's their first real combat, but will it be okay?"

There were also bronze cannons prepared. They were carried on aluminum carts, and they had both regular shells and scatter shells made by filling bags with lead balls, iron nails, and small stones.

"Reduce their numbers with scatter shells! Fire!"

At Mōsuke's command, the scatter shells from the cannons had a high dispersion rate, hitting many soldiers and increasing the number of casualties.

"We have plenty of ammunition and gunpowder, so keep firing!"

The Northern Ise local lords also fought back with arrows, and the Shinchi army started to suffer casualties, but the difference in firepower meant that the damage was overwhelmingly on the enemy's side.

"We still have a lot of gunpowder! This is different from what we were told!"

Nagano Kudō, seeing the dense gunfire from the Shinchi army, was furious on his ship.

"That scoundrel! He lied to us!"

One of the reasons for starting this battle was the opinion of the Nagashima castle commander, Hattori Sakyojin. He told Kudō that the Shinchi family had lost their gunpowder reserves in the battle against the Hattori family, so attacking now would guarantee victory. He said that such a new army would easily collapse with a single blow.

"That bastard! He used us as pawns to deplete the Shinchi family's gunpowder and planned to reclaim his territory!"

Kudō, realizing he had been deceived, was furious, but in the warring states era, being deceived was the fault of the deceived. Moreover, the battle had already started. He had to win at all costs; otherwise, he would be just a clown. Returning without a victory wouldn't change the reality of the food shortage.

"Lord!"

"What is it?"

"The Shinchi family's navy!"

From the mouth of the Kiso River, three shallow-draft ships were ascending. They appeared to be small warships, but their surfaces were entirely covered with metal armor.

"Crush them!"

While they didn't literally crush them, the Shinchi navy's ships continuously fired, and pots were thrown onto the Northern Ise local lords' ships. When the pots broke, the liquid inside ignited, and the ships were engulfed in flames. The Northern Ise soldiers panicked and fled from the ships, but many drowned in the Kiso River.

The higher the rank, the more likely they were to drown due to the heavy armor they wore. Many officers and soldiers sank into the river, unable to swim to shore.

"The Shinchi family has a navy?"

"The Kuki clan must be helping them."

The Kuki clan, based in Ise, had been exiled and were now under the protection of the Oda family. It wasn't unusual for them to assist the Shinchi family, who were vassals of the Oda family, as explained by a vassal to Kudō.

"Ugh... Retreat!"

The army of the local lords, having already lost their lords and main vassals, began to retreat. Or rather, it was more like a rout. Most of the soldiers were farmers, and without their leaders, they scattered and fled. Very few stayed to avenge their lords.

"There are still some who haven't given up."

"Leave them alone!"

They had just happened to have a common interest this time, but they were usually enemies, so there was no need to help them. Kudō ordered his men to abandon the other local lords.

"No... If we play our cards right, we might be able to seize the territories of the weakened local lords."

Kudō, still alive and well, briefly imagined a rosy future. But the moment was short-lived.

"Ugh!"

"Lord!"

A bullet from a Kuki clan marksman pierced Kudō's forehead, and here, the second son of the Ise governor, Kitabatake Tomofusa, ended his short life.

When news of Kudō's death spread, the army of the Northern Ise local lords, crossing the Kiso River, collapsed, and they retreated without landing on the eastern bank. The number of casualties was unknown.

The Shinchi army confirmed 3,500 bodies, but some had been swept away and couldn't be confirmed. The Shinchi family side had 128 dead and 227 wounded.

It was a great victory, but Koki honestly expressed his feelings to Mōsuke.

"We raised them so well! The loss of 128 men is painful!"

"Recruitment and training are ongoing, so please don't worry."

Ichimasa comforted Koki, who was lamenting the loss of his own forces.

After the post-battle cleanup, the Shinchi army, with 2,500 men, the maximum they could mobilize, invaded the Minami, Kuwana, and Asahigata districts. The local lords, having lost their lords and powerful vassals in the previous battle on the Kiso River, either fled, surrendered, or were destroyed. Most of the Northern Ise Forty-Eight Families disappeared from history.

"Lord, we didn't hear about Asahigata! Consider the effort to incorporate three districts into the Shinchi family's territory! We need manpower! We need manpower!"

The usually gentle Taisei snapped at Koki, but with the help of the local lords and samurai who agreed to be hired by the Shinchi family, and the newly employed and trained civil servants, they managed to set a plan in place, and the Shinchi family expanded their territory even further.

"Lord Shinchi is a good lord."

"Yeah, he doesn't send us to war, we get a daily wage for labor, the taxes are low, and he even gave us food because of the poor harvest this year."

The centuries-long rule of the Northern Ise Forty-Eight Families came to an end with the arrival of the lenient new lord.